


Piccadilly, Trafalgar, and Soho

by flibbertygigget



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bisexual Severus Snape, Gay Albus Dumbledore, Implied/Referenced Terrorism, Period-Typical Homophobia, QUEER HARRY POTTER, Queer History
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 19:19:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14503761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flibbertygigget/pseuds/flibbertygigget
Summary: History doesn't begin with the victors.Three men, three locations, three moments in queer history.





	Piccadilly, Trafalgar, and Soho

_1911_

The Lyons Corner House in Piccadilly Circus was not, perhaps, the most reputable of locations for a young wizard to frequent. Headmaster Black, Albus's employer, would have sniffed and called it irredeemably Muggle, and the Muggles all knew of the taint that hung over the small, snug corner in the back of the main room. But for a man of Albus's age and persuasion, it was more or less perfect for his purposes.

"Mr. Branwyn!" the waitress squealed, giving him a peck on the cheek. "Why, I haven't seen you in months!"

"It's good to see you too, Candice," Albus said. "I recently took a new job. It pays well, but it rarely takes me to London."

"And a right shame it is, too," Candice said. Her voice dipped into an undertone. "I take it you'll be sitting in the Lily Pond?"

"If it isn't too much trouble," Albus said brightly. Candice smiled again.

"I'll be bringing you your usual in a moment," she said. Albus quickly took his seat in the corner. The "Lily Pond," as it was called, was reserved by all the waitresses for their homosexual clientele. It was one of the major reasons why Lyons Corner House had a somewhat shady reputation. It was one of the few places in London where Albus's blue-velvet suit and lacquered nails were seen as fashionable rather than a faux pas.

"Care if I join you?" The man that approached him was slightly younger, around 25 or so, with a careless grin and pinstriped suit. Albus surveyed him over his pint. Yes, this man would be just fine.

"Why, of course," Albus said. The other man smiled and sat across from him.

"The name's Jeremy Wilson," he said. "And you are?"

"Branwyn. Albert Branwyn." Albus shook Wilson's hand firmly. "It's a pleasure."

"I'm certain it will be," Wilson said. "I haven't seen you in the Lily Pond before. Just come up?"

"Come down's more like it." Wilson blinked. "My job took me from London to Glasgow about a year ago. I'm just popping back down to visit some friends."

"Are they good friends?" Albus winked over his glass.

"They could be," he said. Wilson bit his bottom lip, flushing slightly.

"If you've been out of London, you mightn't have heard," he said.

"Heard what?"

"They say that the Lily Pond may be needed no longer." Albus raised his eyebrows. There were several ways that could be taken. "Do you know Heddon Street?"

"It's right off Regent. Yes, I know the place."

"They're saying a certain Madame Strindberg is opening a temple. They're calling it The Cave of the Golden Calf." Albus blinked. He, of course, knew of Madame Strindberg. All the homosexuals of London did. But, quite frankly, people were edgy enough going to the Lily Pond in the otherwise aboveboard Lyon.

"Is she certain that's wise?" Albus said, taking a delicate sip of the watered-down beer. "I mean, with the laws being what they are..."

"Oh, come on, old man," Wilson said. "There hasn't been trouble in ages. So long as it's kept quiet, one queer to another, it'll all be fine. Better than even the best Lily Pond. Look," he put a hand on Albus's, squeezing encouragingly, "it's set to open next year. I'll give you my address, and when you come down again you just come to my place. I'll show you that The Golden Calf is safe, safer even than the Lyon."

"Of course," Albus muttered as he brought the boy's knuckles to his lips. Privately, he knew that he would never take Wilson up on that offer. The Cave of the Golden Calf? He'd sooner reside in Sodom and Gomorrah. Both had the same mark, the same sin, and both would inevitably be destroyed.

_1972_

"1000 March for Gays in London," the headline proclaimed. "It's a Soho Parade from Trafalgar to Hyde Park." Right there, in the middle of the page, was a picture of a man holding a sign that read "Gay is Good." Severus felt something unbearably light open up inside his chest. Part of him loved Lily, true, but another part... He traced the newsprint-man's body.

"Gay is Good," he whispered to himself, letting a tiny grin show on his face.

"What yer doin' wit' that there, boy?" Severus quickly tried to fold up the paper, but it was too late. The shopkeeper was already on him, snatching the paper from him and catching the back of his head with a sharp whack.

"I were jus' lookin'," Severus protested.

"Well, if yeh ay buyin', garn wit' yeh. I ay need waggers in this here..." The shopkeeper trailed off as he registered the headline on the paper, and Severus ducked his head, desperately wishing that he hadn't been so stupid. "What's this then, boy?"

"Ay nothin'," Severus muttered. "Jus' the news, is all."

"Bunch o' bloody poofters, they are. If yeh ask me, they oughta arrest the lot o' them queers." When Severus didn't answer him, the shopkeeper fixed him with a frightening glare. "What'll yeh say to that, boy?"

"I ay said naught," Severus protested. The shopkeeper, frowning, clipped him around the ear and pushed him toward the door.

"Then garn wit' yeh!"

"Me da wants-"

"You can tell Toby tha' he ay gettin' naught 'til he settles up his debt wit' me."

"He ay goin'-"

"You tell him, an' if yeh come back 'ere I'll tell old Toby all 'bout them poofters you be chasin'."

"I weren't chasin' no one," Severus snapped. "It was jus' the news, is all." The shopkeeper snorted, pushing Severus through the door. Severus stumbled a little, rubbing his head where the shopkeeper had whacked him.

"They're jus' a lot o' Muggles," he told himself under his breath. He turned the corner into the alleyway beside the record shop next door. Some days, if he went there at the right time, there were crates of new records sitting on the back stoop. It was easy enough to open the crates and steal a record or two for his collection.

Severus was in luck: several crates were sitting there, waiting to be opened. He snuck up cautiously, keeping an ear open for footsteps coming from the record shop. When he was confident that the only sound was the opening riff of some Bowie song, he darted forward, making quick work of the crate before running away with his prize.

When he finally got a chance to look at the album title, he cursed. _Fog on the Tyne_  by Lindisfarne may have been alright for his da. They were a folk band, all tradition and respectability in a normal, manly fashion. But Severus didn't want that. He wanted something new, something bold, something as far from his da's stupid Muggleness as possible.

Glam and punk and a sign saying "Gay is Good." Severus grinned as he threw the stupid Lindisfarne album into the river, watching it sink into the oily muck. He wasn't going to be like his da or the damned shopkeeper. He was a wizard, and he was going to change the world. Whatever it took to get to Trafalgar Square.

_1999_

The mood in Soho Square that Sunday was quiet and tense. Harry hadn't known what to expect when he went to the gathering only two days after the Admiral Duncan nail-bomb, but he had to admit that the respectful atmosphere was the best of all possibilities. Not only would it not give the MPD any excuse to arrest the lot of them, it would make any more suspicious behavior all the more obvious.

Harry sighed a little. Even with the way that the gathering seemed calm, he couldn't help the way that he kept his hand on the wand in his pocket. The attack had shattered any sense of security he felt in Soho, and now he was acting like he was on the run again, the potential for Snatchers around every corner.

"Attention! May I have your attention please?" Harry shook himself from his thoughts. There had been different people giving speeches all day, with the GLF and other organizations pledging their support and calling for donations to help the families of the injured until they could get back to work.

"Who's speaking now?" he asked someone next to him.

"The Assistant Commissioner," the man replied with a sneer. "Let's see if they're with us or against us this time." Harry's hand spasmed around his wand. The Assistant Commissioner went up on the stage that had been set up, tapping the microphone to ensure it was on.

"Ladies and gentleman," he said, "I am Assistant Commissioner Denis O'Connor of the Metropolitan Police Department, and I am here today to inform you of the measures that the MPD is going to take in response to the events of last Friday." The entirety of Soho Square seemed to hold its breath. "Firstly, the bombing of the Admiral Duncan by a person or persons unknown is a terrible tragedy, and the MPD offers its condolences and support in this difficult time. The events of last Friday have understandably made many of you nervous, and we at the MPD intend to do what we can to mitigate that. To that end, we intend to maintain a crime scene van to collect evidence and take witness statements until the perpetrator is found and taken into custody. This van will be staffed entirely with gay and lesbian members of the Metropolitan Police Force. Again, we are determined to apprehend those responsible for this tragedy, and we hope that taking these measures will ensure that the perpetrator will be caught with all due haste. Thank you."

"Well," Harry said to the man next to him, "there's your answer, I suppose."

"Jesus Christ," the man muttered. "I wouldn't've thought - I mean, even five, ten years ago that would've never happened."

"Maybe times really are changing for the better," Harry said.

"Maybe," the man said. He sounded dubious, but Harry couldn't help but feel optimistic. Voldemort was dead, and the Ministry was being reformed under Kingsley's keen eye and firm hand. Equality was being legislated in the Muggle world - more slowly than he'd like, of course, but it was happening. And even now... the bombing was terrible, but the fact that the police were taking it seriously and sending only LGBT officers to investigate it was heartening.

It wasn't a perfect world, not yet. Still, it was good enough that Harry felt comfortable taking his hand from his wand and waving the rainbow flag high.

**Author's Note:**

> The Lyon's Corner House, the "Lily Pond," and The Cave of the Golden Calf were all real places. The Cave of the Golden Calf was the first "gay pub" in a modern sense. It opened in 1912 and went bankrupt in 1914. Fun Fact: the former location of The Cave of the Golden Calf was turned into a post office and is in the background of the album cover of Bowie's _The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars_.
> 
> The first Gay Pride Rally was held by the Gay Liberation Front on July 1st, 1972. Using "Gay is Good" as their main slogan, approximately 700 to 1000 LGBT individuals marched from Trafalgar Square to Hyde Park. They were met by a hostile public and a very heavy, aggressive police presence.
> 
> On April 30th, 1999, the Admiral Duncan, a gay pub in Soho, was bombed by David Copeland, a Neo-Nazi. The bombing killed three and injured over 70. The response by the Metropolitan Police following the attack led to a direct decrease in tensions between many in the LGBT community and the Metropolitan Police.


End file.
